diff --git a/understand-anything-plugin/packages/core/src/__tests__/domain-normalize.test.ts b/understand-anything-plugin/packages/core/src/__tests__/domain-normalize.test.ts
index 77bd37f..54c90f9 100644
--- a/understand-anything-plugin/packages/core/src/__tests__/domain-normalize.test.ts
+++ b/understand-anything-plugin/packages/core/src/__tests__/domain-normalize.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
 import { normalizeNodeId } from "../analyzer/normalize-graph.js";
 
-describe("domain node ID normalization", () => {
+describe("normalizeNodeId — domain types", () => {
   it("normalizes domain node IDs", () => {
     const result = normalizeNodeId("domain:order-management", {
       type: "domain",
@@ -34,4 +34,13 @@ describe("domain node ID normalization", () => {
     });
     expect(result).toBe("step:validate");
   });
+
+  it("normalizes bare step name with filePath", () => {
+    const result = normalizeNodeId("validate", {
+      type: "step",
+      name: "Validate",
+      filePath: "src/validators/order.ts",
+    });
+    expect(result).toBe("step:src/validators/order.ts:validate");
+  });
 });
diff --git a/understand-anything-plugin/packages/core/src/analyzer/normalize-graph.ts b/understand-anything-plugin/packages/core/src/analyzer/normalize-graph.ts
index f8c7698..6d71c44 100644
--- a/understand-anything-plugin/packages/core/src/analyzer/normalize-graph.ts
+++ b/understand-anything-plugin/packages/core/src/analyzer/normalize-graph.ts
@@ -72,7 +72,11 @@ export function normalizeNodeId(
   const { prefix, path } = stripToValidPrefix(trimmed);
 
   if (prefix) {
-    // For step nodes with filePath, reconstruct as step:filePath:stepSlug
+    // For step nodes with filePath, reconstruct as step:filePath:stepSlug.
+    // This intentionally drops the flow slug (e.g. "create-order" in
+    // "step:create-order:validate") — the normalized form anchors to
+    // file paths instead of flow parentage, so the ID is stable across
+    // renames of the parent flow.
     if (node.type === "step" && node.filePath) {
       // Use the last colon-separated segment of the path as the step slug
       const lastColon = path.lastIndexOf(":");
@@ -92,6 +96,11 @@ export function normalizeNodeId(
     ) {
       return `${expectedPrefix}:${node.filePath}:${node.name}`;
     }
+    // For step nodes with filePath, reconstruct as step:filePath:slug
+    if (node.type === "step" && node.filePath) {
+      const slug = path.toLowerCase().replace(/\s+/g, "-");
+      return `${expectedPrefix}:${node.filePath}:${slug}`;
+    }
     return `${expectedPrefix}:${path}`;
   }